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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28111866">Cocytus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/you_cant_eat_books_sweetheart/pseuds/you_cant_eat_books_sweetheart'>you_cant_eat_books_sweetheart</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Waters that Define [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, RIORDAN Rick - Works</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canonical Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lotus Hotel and Casino, Temporary Amnesia, more tags to be added with chapter updates, responsible underage drinking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:48:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,186</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28111866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/you_cant_eat_books_sweetheart/pseuds/you_cant_eat_books_sweetheart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eventually, after what is probably a few days, it no longer feels strange to not know what's going on, or to not know where he is, or even really who he is. Bianca doesn't know very much either, she can't recall the day or the time, she doesn't even know where they’re at.</p><p> (“New York,” she tells him, "I think?" and that's the end of that conversation. Nico never tells her, but he thinks she's wrong, because when he looks out the windows he doesn't see a city skyline or the side of another building, but instead the sprawling emptiness of dusty nature.)</p><p>- My retelling of the events of PJO through Nico's P.O.V. -</p><p>DISCONTINUED // possibly permanently I'm looking into doing something else with this</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Waters that Define [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971082</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cocytus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cocytus - the river of lamentation, mourning, grief, and reflection</p><p>Tw: Responsible and consensual underage drinking (lightly referenced in a few paragraphs near the end)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>The hotel is like a dream. </b>
</p><p>The rooms are large and echo when you walk across the marble floors. The walls are decorated in baroque gold trim, and the ceilings in the halls have Renaissance style murals of angels and gods stretched across them. The style of the building is incredibly sophisticated, merging Victorian home design with Greek pillars and artisan skills you’d be hard pressed to find in the twentieth century. Somehow, despite the contradictory nature of the various design influences, the whole building looks uniform and sturdily delicate (almost as though the contradictions themselves are what hold the building up). </p><p>In short, it's beautiful. </p><p>But it makes Nico feel weird. His legs are shaky and feel as though they might not even be there, almost as though he’s floating. His fingertips tingle with a sensation similar to electricity, like pins-and-needles. Except it doesn’t hurt, it’s a giddy sort of buzz that fills him up as though he’s a bubbling pot on the stove. He feels dizzy too, like the room appears both larger and smaller than it really is, almost as though it can't decide on a size to stay. Nico feels like he's drunk, but he's not sure why the hotel makes him feel like that, or why he knows what <em> that </em>feels like. </p><p>And although he’s got a feeling that something isn't quite right, Nico can push it aside with the airy, floating feeling in his head. </p><p>Eventually, after what is probably a few days, it no longer feels strange to not know what's going on, or to not know where he is, or even really <em> who </em>he is. Bianca doesn't know very much either, she can't recall the day or the time (and there are no clocks in the hotel), she doesn't even know where they’re at.</p><p> (“New York,” she tells him, "I think?" and that's the end of that conversation. Nico never tells her, but he thinks she's wrong, because when he looks out the windows he doesn't see a city skyline or the side of another building, but instead the sprawling emptiness of dusty nature.)</p><p>The hotel is mostly empty as far as Nico can tell, the hallways rarely have more than a few guests in them, and the lobby is always empty except for one receptionist, who is somehow always the same person no matter what time it is when Nico passes.</p><p>It strikes him as odd that it’s always the same person, but Nico can’t seem to tell time very well anymore and there’s no clocks in the hotel for him to time their schedule against. Which now that he thinks about it, no clocks in a hotel of this level of wealth doesn’t make any sense…. What was he thinking about again? </p><p>Anyhow, the people Nico does meet are often drunk, or at least tipsy, like there's constantly a big party somewhere within the hotel. He thinks it's probably a costume party, because there's people who wander the hotel in togas, and others in head-to-toe eighteenth century fashion. Sometimes Nico talks to them, they never seem to know where they are either, or what the date is (one man told him it was 83 BC). If he asks too many questions they stop answering and start cooing at him, others wave him off and tell him to mind his own business, he's been told off for being rude, and he's had people tell him to go find his parents.  Which was a question that promptly confused Nico for a whole hour, because he's pretty sure everyone has parents- <em> so why didn't he?  </em></p><p>And if he did have some, where were they? What had happened and why couldn’t he remember them?</p><p>He supposes if he tries not to think too much he can almost see his mother. Her figure is backlit and her face is dark. If Nico concentrates he can make out the browns of her eyes, dark orbs like an inky black night and the light behind them reflects like stars on the horizon. The shape of her nose flows down into a little upturned point and her painted lips sit below. Her hair is short, it comes down just past her jawline in little waves; she has a hat slightly tilted near the top of her head, like a little boat making its way towards bigger waters. </p><p>There’s golden sunlight behind her, it’s warm and cheerful, perhaps she’s standing in front of a big window. He can’t see much of her figure because it seems as though she is leaning over him, her hands are extended towards him, if he closes his eyes it’s almost like he can feel the phantom touch of her running a hand through his hair and down along his temple. </p><p>He wants to think about her, wants to know more, but the thoughts make his head hurt. It brings up too many questions of her whereabouts and of his own too. If he thinks about her too long his thoughts get all jumbled like a radio with bad connection, and he forgets he was even thinking in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>While Nico wanders the hotel, Bianca tends to sit up in their room, which is basically a small apartment, and there she watches the TV they have (Nico’s not sure when the hotel staff put one in, but the black and white images keep Bianca entertained). The fact that Bianca doesn't want to go exploring with him and try to find the party concerns him, she's always been social and enjoyed laughing with all of the guests back in… He's not sure, but he remembers that she likes parties. </p><p>Either way, she doesn't seem to care much for whatever was before this place, Nico tries to think about it sometimes but he never gets anywhere. On the other hand, Bianca is content to sit in their room and watch the TV and eat the food that is delivered to their room three times a day (at least Nico thinks it's three times a day, and now that he thinks about it, he's not sure how often he sleeps either). </p><p>It takes a little time, but miraculously (after lots of begging and talking about how cool the hotel is) Nico manages to convince Bianca to go find the party with him. Eventually they find it, on the other side of the building, crowds of people mingle in front of the entrance, a huge arched doorway decorated in gold, and Nico and Bianca have to push their way through the mingling hotel guest to reach the archway, and then enter the party. Loud music pours out of the room and Nico is surprised at the quality of the audio, it's so clear, he’s amazed that it's not a live performance. </p><p>Bianca seems more in awe of the size of the room and the number of guests, and he can sympathize with her, he doesn't remember ever having a party this big, even… He forgot the man’s name, but even <em>his </em> party wasn't this large. That had been the biggest party Nico had ever been to, and even then it was probably less than a quarter of the guests in attendance at this one. </p><p>There's crazy lights moving about the space, they're purple and blue, and they're blinding in the darkness of the room. Women's jewelry sparkles in the light, and the liquid in champagne glasses twinkle like stars in a galaxy, and despite the loud pumping of the music (something that's not quite swing, it’s a new sound- something he’s never heard before) Nico thinks it's beautiful. He misses the jazz tones of parlor style swing, but he hears the man singing hit an almost operatic high note to the sound of a strange guitar and decides he likes whatever this is. </p><p>(Also he was definitely right about it being a costume party- is that one man dressed up as a pirate? <em> Awesome! </em>) </p><p>The song eventually slows, and Bianca wants to dance. Nico humors her because it's what good brothers do, and because he hasn't seen her so happy since they've gotten here. It's nice, things almost feel normal, whatever he means by that because he doesn’t know. He thinks this is how life used to feel, <em> maybe? </em> When Bianca used to be less stern, she was happier then, and if Nico closes his eyes he can almost remember something from before, it’s not much; Bianca laughing, a lot of sunlight streaming in from a window somewhere,  he accidentally steps on her toes, she laughs harder. She laughs in a way that's not mocking him, but in the way you laugh at your sibling when they do something stupid, you're picking on them, but you still love them. </p><p>The memory is sweet, but it ends with the song. And not even a fragment is left, his mind is once again blank of <em>the</em> <em>before</em>. The what? He’s always lived here… Everyone lives here, don’t they?</p><p>Nico and Bianca end up spending what feels like the entire night in the big party room, dancing, laughing, and eating the small desserts they were being offered. They have a sweet taste, something a little bitter and herbal too, it tingles on the tip of your tongue in a fun manner. They’re chocolate perhaps? There’s some sense of pink décor on the top of them, frosted or sugared little flowers, perhaps they’re some sort of tea cake? Nico knows Bianca likes those sorts of things. </p><p>The two of them end up stealing a bottle of wine from the uptight American servers (Nico’s not sure why the fact that they're American is important, but he's different from them somehow). He’s shocked in all honesty that he’s allowed such freedom anymore, he can remember when living with Mama they were confined to their house and a few streets around it so they could get groceries. He remembers being asked for his papers, and he remembers being thankful for the money they had- Mama had said that his father was a Greek man living in America for business, but she always said to just tell people he was American. </p><p>Nico remembers having freedom before now too, a plaza where he ran after birds, and played football, and splashed in puddles. He remembers an ocean too, or perhaps two different oceans? There’s foggy memories of a field, blonde hair like the tall dry grass that grew in the fall, he remembers dark leather shoes walking down a dirt road next to his own…</p><p>Bianca is pulling him along, saying his name and telling him to move faster; he must have been really distracted to fall behind Bianca.</p><p>They sneak back to their room with the bottle and two glasses in hand, and wait for their evening meal to be delivered before opening the bottle and filling their glasses. The pair sit at the small circular dining table in their hotel room and eat the lobster platter that was delivered to their room. The conversation flows easily enough, nothing they talk about is even remotely important. They talk about one lady’s crazy dress, and the one couple who seemed to be on the worst first date ever, they talk about the one eerily good pharaoh costume, the music, the lights, and how good the food was. It’s nothing special (except for their stolen bottle of wine, but wine doesn’t taste all that unfamiliar to either of them), it’s mostly just two siblings being siblings. </p><p>When they’re done they set their plates on the cart along with the still three-quarters full bottle of wine and push it into the hall. They close the door and Bianca climbs back into her bed and clicks the remote for the TV. Colors and sound come on as Nico climbs up in bed next to her for a little while, there’s three girls in a pool of water in a cave and they’re talking about the moonlight for some reason. He’s not terribly interested in it but he likes Bianca’s company and the show could be worse, it could be like the one show Bianca had watched a few weeks ago with the nanny and the flying umbrella. </p><p>The event isn’t interesting in the slightest, most people would have just moved on and forgotten about the situation. For them though? It’s the happiest memory either of them have of each other, it’s the only memory either of them have of the other; and for Nico, it’s the only new memory he’ll ever have of him and Bianca getting along.</p><p> For now all of that is far off, they’re safe and warm and their bellies are full. Nico’s being lulled asleep against Bianca’s chest to the sound of her heartbeat and by the sounds she makes watching her tv show. Time feels infinite and like he will be happy forever, there’s no reason for him to worry. Bianca runs her hand through his hair and down to his temple just like Mama does and he falls asleep dreaming of sunlight through a window in the countryside.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Historical Note:<br/>Children drinking alcohol in Italy is fairly normal, usually (depends on the family) children are not allowed more than a glass and oftentimes it’s watered down. I'm not sure how accurate this would be for 1920-30s because in America there was a temperance movement at the time. Italians may or may not have been unaffected by this, I decided to make it more similar to modern day Italy and allow 1920-30s children to have alcohol for the purposes of describing things. Henceforth, why Nico and Bianca don't see alcohol as a big deal, in Italy it is treated as a normal part of family life and a thing of social gatherings. </p><p>“One aspect that has not changed at all during the last twenty years is socialisation into alcohol. Italian youngsters are introduced to alcoholic beverages, mainly wine, but also beer and sometimes liquor, in a family context. These moments often have a ritual value, marking the milestones in a child’s life: he/she progresses from merely tasting to having an occasional sip to enjoying alcoholic beverages with the adults in the family…. Italian youngsters belong to a “non intoxication culture”, characterised by a lower occurrence of alcohol abuse, while there appear to be more informal mechanisms of controlling drunkenness and more awareness about the negative effects caused by excessive consumption of alcohol.” - The Puzzle of Italian Drinking by Allaman Allamani &amp; Franca Beccaria &amp; Fabio Voller</p><p>Follow me @the-ghost-king on tumblr!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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